by SHANE SINNOTT

While there is still passionate debate as to whether downloading has harmed or helped the music industry, it’s impossible to argue that the activity hasn’t changed it drastically. The smaller labels, of course, seem a little more nimble, and the upcoming release of Challengers by the New Pornographers is a good example (provided you can make a case for the Matador label being “small”). The album has a release date of August 21, and you can preorder it now from Matador (www.matadorrecords.com).

The album comes in two “editions” and a preorder of either one allows you to listen to a full-album stream on your PC right away. Then, if you’re a big shot and spend the extra $5 for the “executive edition,” you get the album as well as a three-disc “box set”—some assembly required, as this is all in downloadable MP3 form—containing B-sides, demos, artwork, videos and more, plus a disc titled Live From the Future with as-yet-unrecorded recordings from as-yet-unperformed shows. You could even go all out on the “executive” theme and pay someone a tiny fraction of your salary to assemble the box for you! Either way, it’s nice to see that while the record labels may be getting hit economically, the downloading thing has benefitted consumers tremendously. You can download the first track from Challenger, “My Rights vs. Yours,” here: tinyurl.com/2yxzb2.

Early last week, Dinosaur Jr. played a show in Boston at a freaking Urban Outfitters location. Not only that, but according to reports, they were driven to the venue in a custom-painted Toyota Yaris. Not only that, it’s also incredibly depressing to think that many Dinosaur Jr. fans are now of an age where they might consider buying a Toyota Yaris (by the way, Toyota must have marketing people who feel music is the way to a person’s wallet—remember the Deadly Snakes songs last year?). The reason I mention all this is, earlier, I tried to get you some of the new Dinosaur Jr. material, but their legal team is pretty vigilant about keeping it off the net. They’re fine with live stuff though. Here’s the whole show: tinyurl.com/2sj7vr.